May in Review

May was likely the slowest month yet in terms of reading.  Taking more than a week to finish The Dive From Clausen’s Pier hindered my progress a little!  I’m now at 42 books for the year though, leaving me only 8 to read in June to stay on track!

1. Miss Julia Renews Her Vows – Ann B. Ross
2.  Knit Two – Kate Jacobs
3.  In Beauty May She Walk – Leslie Mass
4.  Mourn Not Your Dead – Debbie Crombie
5.  The Girl Who Stopped Swimming – Joshilyn Jackson
6.  Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man – Fannie Flagg
7.  The Dive From Clausen’s Pier – Ann Packer

I have just 2 books left to read to finish of the Twenty Ten Challenge! 

I also made it to 25 library books, so I’m halfway through that challenge!

Angst and Indecision

The Dive from Clausen’s Pier – Ann Packer

I’d heard great things about this book.  It was best seller, Susan liked it, I’d read some good reviews.   It was a good book, but I wasn’t a big fan.  It took me forever to read.  I just didn’t get “hooked” by the story.  I had a hard time having any sympathy for the main character Carrie.  

At the beginning of the story Carrie’s fiancé, Mike, dove into a shallow reservoir an broke his neck, leaving him a quadriplegic.  He and Carrie had been having some relationship issues before the accident, but they hadn’t dealt with them yet.  Carrie struggles to figure out where she wants to be and where she needs to be.  In the process of her struggles she burns bridges with her friends. 

While the story had promise, I really didn’t feel strongly about any of the characters.  A few times I was shouting at Carrie and calling her names because she was expecting to waltz back into everyone’s lives after she’d abruptly walked out.   The other characters were intriguing, but there were too many story lines and too many directions creating a very shallow story. 

    

Coming Attractions!

Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man – Fannie Flagg

I have read almost all of Fannie Flagg’s books and enjoyed most of them!  This book was no exception!  I laughed out loud in many places and really felt that it was heading to being my favorite Fannie Flagg book.   The story launching scene in the Bingo Hall close to the beginning was classic!

If the book had ended after the 1st 200 pages it would have been one of my favorite books, but the last 100 pages were totally pointless.  

The book was basically a diary of Daisy Fay’s escapades and coming of age in a small beach town during the 1950s!  It had all the charms of a true southern novel! 

What I found interesting was that the title of the book was “Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man”, but at the bottom of the book it said that it was originally published as “Coming Attractions”.  I actually think “Coming Attractions was the better name for the book.  Daisy Fay spent a lot of time in the movie theater and show business.  Also, throughout the book Daisy is always getting ready for the next thing and planning her next move.   The Miracle Man part of the story was only a minor event.  In fact, the part with the Miracle Man was the last good part of the story.  Maybe that’s why she changed the title after it had been published, to inform readers that they should stop reading after that part!

    

Chick Lit + Murder

The Girl Who Stopped Swimming – Joshilyn Jackson

About a year ago Susan and I were in Borders and she saw this book, she said that she’d read some Joshilyn Jackson has really liked her, then when we got back to her house she gave me Gods in Alabama to read. 

I really liked Gods in Alabama so was looking forward to another Joshilyn Jackson.  Unfortunately, this one didn’t live up to my expectations.

The combination of chick lit sprinkled with murder is quite appealing.  Traditional housewives in cookie cutter subdivisions and mysterious death has all the elements of a great story.  However this book was very hard to get through.  The story felt disjointed and the characters were hard to get into. 

I have read that Between Georgia is a good book so I’m not giving up on Joshilyn Jackson, every writer writes a “not-so-good” book every now and them!

This book is #25 on my Support Your Local Library Challenge – halfway done! :-)

   

Mourn Not Your Dead

Mourn Not Your Dead – Debbie Crombie

I’m working my way through Debbie Crombie’s Kincaid and James mystery series.  The 1st three have been really good, however this one I didn’t enjoy as much. 

This one was a more traditional “detective story”, revolving around a dead Chief of Police, the other stories had other themes that were interesting to me.   Also, at the end of the 3rd book Duncan and Gemma had slept together and this book was full of tension from that which took away from their working partnership that I have come to enjoy.  

When my friend gave me the series she warned me that there were some that weren’t as good as others, so I’m hopeful that this was one of them!

     

Another AT tale

In Beauty May She Walk – Leslie Mass

I LOVED this book.  I have read many Appalachian Trail journals and memoirs, but this was by far my favorite.  

Leslie struggled with hiking her own hike and being herself and ultimately found happiness in her solitude. 

As an added bounus I have been to more places along the trail since I last was reading a lot of AT journals and it was lots of fun reading about her trek through the places in Maine that I hiked last summer. 

    

Knit Two

Knit Two – Kate Jacobs

I really enjoyed The Friday Night Knitting Club and was excited to see that there was a sequel!  I’m happy to report that the sequel did not disapoint!

This story began 5 years after Friday Night Knitting Club ended and was the perfect conclusion to the story.   At the end of the 1st book there were several loose ends, but this one tied them up perfectly, the events of the 1st book now made perfect sense.  It all had to happen that way! 

This book reminded me a lot of Adriana Trigiani because the whole gang travels to Italy, and that’s where they make discoveries about themselves, which is exactly what happens in many of Adriana' Trigiani’s books!

This book was the perfect ending to the story, I don’t think there is a 3rd one in the works and part of me hopes that there isn’t a 3rd, it feels like the story is told.

Making Mountains Out of Molehills

Miss Julia Renews Her Vows – Ann B. Ross

I can’t remember when or how I found Miss Julia, but I used to love her.  She was a spunky old lady who took off after bad guys and always had an adventure!   She did have some “old fashioned” values and ideas, but it worked. 

Lately though the books have been too steeped in “old fashioned” ideas.  It seems that Miss Julia spends the whole book being worried about things that don’t matter. 

In the book before this Hazel Marie, the ex-mistress of Miss Julia’s late husband, was pregnant.  This was a HUGE problem because Hazel Marie was not married to the baby’s father.  This is something that might have been a big deal years ago, but it isn’t a big deal nowadays.   This book continued the angst over Hazel Marie’s pregnancy and pulled in Etta Mae, a minor character in other books into a more major role. 

Overall, the mystery and action of this book was not compelling, but it was a good quick read.  I’m a bit disappointed though that Hazel Marie is STILL pregnant and I’ll have to wait to the next book for the birth.  This might possibly be the longest pregnancy in literary history!

April in Review

 

At the end of the month I was frustrated because I got bogged down by my 1st Lit Chicks book – great book, but it took me more than a week to read and I’d expected it to go much faster, and I though I hadn’t read as much as I wanted to, but it turns out I read 8 books! :-)

1. The Queen’s Fool – Philippa Gregory
2. The Nanny Diaries – Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus
3.  Sushi for Beginners – Marian Keyes
4. Shanghai Girls – Lisa See
5.  Somewhere off the Coast of Maine – Ann Hood
6.  North by Northwestern – Capitan Sig Hansen
7.  Sleeping Lady – Sue Henry
8. Those Who Save Us – Jenna Blum

I also completed the What’s in a Name 3 Challenge!